Amp Stands??

thetawave2

Hey guys,
I'm wondering about your opinions on amp stands. Do they offer important separation from the floor and thus protection from vibration and static electricity? Do they make a system look more finished, more serious? Or is it better to just put your amp on a sturdy piece of furniture? How much would you be willing to pay for an amp stand and what would you expect from it?

Marty913

Obviously stability is a consideration but that would depend more on the type of rack you're using. I think heat dissipation is a more important consideration. Heat rises, so if the rack alternative involves a lower shelf then the amp stand would provide a real benefit. Moving the main heat source away from the other components can't be a bad thing. I'm amazed at the number of systems you see with a powerful amp sitting an inch below other components in a "backed" rack - or worse, enclosed in a completely sealed cabinet or armoire.

As for floor isolation, they are certainly beneficial if the alternative is to put the amp on a carpeted floor. I doubt vibration enters into the equation to any great extent.

Another consideration is wire management. One could argue (or not) the benefits of longer interconnects / shorter speaker cables versus the opposite. I doubt at reasonable distances with decent cables it makes a lot of difference. Still, 12-15 foot speaker cables versus 12-15 foot interconnects would be a consideration.

I have a couple of Sanus amp stands that sell for around $70 each. They are nice looking & very sturdy. I like them because they are expandable and can be used as a base for a rack system. I currently am not using amp stands (the wire management works out better for me) but have used them in the past.

Not sure there's any real "yes/no" answer.

erniejade

Besides what has been said ( great 411 btw), some amps are just too wide or heavy for a rack. Some weigh in 80 lbs and up! For them its better to put them on a amp stand. As mentioned sanus makes a good one. VTI is another company that makes one that has spikes for carpet reasonably priced.


Some people will put amps on stands to also have a shorter speaker cable run..... But, at the same time, depending on where your preamp and the rest of the equipment is, the IC will be longer then so.... I would personally have a longer speaker run VS IC run.

My suggestion, if heat and weight / size is an issue, amp stand. If you have kids, pets, a wife that vacuums aimlessly hitting things, get it off the floor and get a strong stand LOL. The vti stands are configurable so you can actually separate them to make them in any kind of shape you want and hold a lot of weight for the $. Stands in general can run just as much or more as some of the equipment out there!!

So the correct answer is exactly what Marty913 said, "Not sure there's any real "yes/no" answer"

It all depends on your needs.

Devlon

Take a look at this rack from Walmart of all places. It is modular, and the top shelf supports 250lbs. 129.00 for a 5 tier rack like this seems like a deal. http://www.walmart.com/ip/35-Multilevel-Component-Stand/9193532?findingMethod=rr

thsmith

I would not put my 100+ pound amp on any glass shelf, espically a top shelf.

How much does your amp weigh that you are concerned about?

thetawave2

thsmith wrote: »

How much does your amp weigh that you are concerned about?

My amp is pretty darn heavy, a dual mono tube amp with four huge transformers. I'm not really asking specifically about this particular component, though; just trying to get a sense for the market.

Marty913

I think erniejade pretty much summed up everything (agree about never using glass shelves as thsmith noted - just asking for disaster there).

If the amp is extremely heavy, or there's a heat dissipation issue, or if long(er) interconnects aren't a problem, then an amp stand can be a good investment. For two channel setups I think there are more widely used (especially perhaps with mono-blocks, bi-amping). When you get into 5/7 channels the interconnect issue really jumps up. The couple times I used mine the amp stand was sitting next to the component rack so the interconnect length wasn't too bad (6 feet maybe). I did it because I didn't want the heat rising up through the other components.

Devlon

For sake of information, I just wanted to say one more thing about glass shelf racks. The top plate of the Walmart unit is tempered glass (can see this fact on other sites about this unit...don't think it's mentioned on the walmart site). Tempered glass is a whole different animal. Remember, tempered glass is a type of safety glass regularly used in applications in which standard glass could pose a potential danger. Tempered glass is four to five times stronger than standard glass, and does not break into sharp large pieces if it does break. If the top shelf were not tempered, it would probably only be rated at about 40-50lbs. Since this unit is modular, the top plate could be moved to the bottom of the rack where it would be just several inches above the floor if that was a concern. I have a Techcraft TV stand that has a 60"x19" (8mm) thick tempered glass top that is only supported along its edges. It has been supporting a 55" plaza (heavy!) PS3, Polk Lsic, and a APC15 for a while now. It is rated at 125lbs., so I think think 250lbs rating for 8mm 26"x22" tempered glass is probably underrated. When I first got my stand I was worried about the strength of the glass top. If I remember correctly, it is the Dupont site that has a glass strength calculator. Check it out.